-
Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software hereThank you for being a part of our community!
Different Take on a V8 Swap - Duder's 4.6L Twin Turbo 245
- Thread starter Duder
- Start date
Duder
Watch it man, there's a beverage here!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Location
- Torrance, CA USA
I'd like to see how they look, just to judge the quality of work and decide if I should be wary of the shafts breaking. The tubes and housing were all welded by someone competent so I don't expect it to be ugly inside, but you never know.
aidanahunter
Member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Location
- Bozeman, MT
Chris, truth be told, I've had this thread as an open tab on my browser since I started my build 7 years ago. I refresh it at least weekly and have been getting close to asking for an update so I'm psyched to see the progress! Is that 80 series land cruiser yours? I bought a '97 40th anniversary edition back in December of '23, and last November, the head gasket blew while driving home from work cruising at 45mph. 6 months and $5,000 later, I just got my bored and decked block back from the machine shop and I am ready to assemble it with all the new OEM parts out of the UAE and get it the F out of my garage.
The car project apathy is real, bro. It's half the reason it's taken me this long to fix my 80. If that is your 80, you might know about the 1FZ-FE crank bolt. I had gotten mine off once before for the oil pump gasket and front main but needed to get it off again before pulling the engine because of the 300 ft*lbs torque spec. Tried the breaker bar/bump starter method (which is the only way to do it safely) with my 1/2" breaker bar that I specifically bought on eBay years ago when I was beginning to build my toolbox and learn how to work on my first project car (a 1992 Miata) because it was vintage craftsman from the 70s and I thought it was way cooler than buying a new one. Bumping that starter broke the bar into pieces, and honestly, I was shattered. Ruined my night. Couldn't wrench for a few weeks. It seems so silly that losing a tool can just shut you down like that. Oh well. I've got plenty more to say about car project apathy but I'll save that for another time. Point is, it's real, it's ok, and like you said to Toybox: It happens! Once I was ready, a 3/4" harbor freight bar took care of it immediately. Funny enough, I just picked up a 1991 Miata with a dying engine this last week. 22k original miles, northwestern car, bone stock, always garage kept, and the previous owner double-gasketed the filter at an oil change and ran the thing dry. Now it has glitter in the filter and makes nasty noises. It's really a shame.
Anyways, enough of my BS in your thread. That 8.8 is really impressive. I don't think I've seen anyone go through the effort to do it that way. Dare I call that the "correct" way to do it? Definitely curious to see what those axles look like inside as well. And great call minimizing the scope of the project. It took me FIVE YEARS to put IPD sway bars on mine. Do I regret it? Nope. I got to drive that thing coast to coast in that time, and I'm still driving it damn near daily. Get that V8 in there - it's gonna be sick!!!
The car project apathy is real, bro. It's half the reason it's taken me this long to fix my 80. If that is your 80, you might know about the 1FZ-FE crank bolt. I had gotten mine off once before for the oil pump gasket and front main but needed to get it off again before pulling the engine because of the 300 ft*lbs torque spec. Tried the breaker bar/bump starter method (which is the only way to do it safely) with my 1/2" breaker bar that I specifically bought on eBay years ago when I was beginning to build my toolbox and learn how to work on my first project car (a 1992 Miata) because it was vintage craftsman from the 70s and I thought it was way cooler than buying a new one. Bumping that starter broke the bar into pieces, and honestly, I was shattered. Ruined my night. Couldn't wrench for a few weeks. It seems so silly that losing a tool can just shut you down like that. Oh well. I've got plenty more to say about car project apathy but I'll save that for another time. Point is, it's real, it's ok, and like you said to Toybox: It happens! Once I was ready, a 3/4" harbor freight bar took care of it immediately. Funny enough, I just picked up a 1991 Miata with a dying engine this last week. 22k original miles, northwestern car, bone stock, always garage kept, and the previous owner double-gasketed the filter at an oil change and ran the thing dry. Now it has glitter in the filter and makes nasty noises. It's really a shame.
Anyways, enough of my BS in your thread. That 8.8 is really impressive. I don't think I've seen anyone go through the effort to do it that way. Dare I call that the "correct" way to do it? Definitely curious to see what those axles look like inside as well. And great call minimizing the scope of the project. It took me FIVE YEARS to put IPD sway bars on mine. Do I regret it? Nope. I got to drive that thing coast to coast in that time, and I'm still driving it damn near daily. Get that V8 in there - it's gonna be sick!!!
Duder
Watch it man, there's a beverage here!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Location
- Torrance, CA USA
That is simultaneously flattering, and sad, because you've been driving yours while I've been distracted by 12 other cars, plus bicycles and typewriters (literally). It was inspiring to see you get yours on the road so quickly, in relative time.
Yep that is my FZJ80. It's a '94. Will be for sale soon! I haven't had to do any major engine service thankfully. It has just under 200k on it. I've had it since 2012 and it was a great adventure vehicle on many memorable trips.
Yep that is my FZJ80. It's a '94. Will be for sale soon! I haven't had to do any major engine service thankfully. It has just under 200k on it. I've had it since 2012 and it was a great adventure vehicle on many memorable trips.
Last edited:
go240go
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2009
- Location
- Los Angeles
That wagon! It sadly went to the scrap yard in July 2024. It provided several great parts and spares, but man was the top half rusty. I still felt bad dragging it to the scrap yard though. It took me 8 months to finally send it off, so your timeline is relatively excellent, considering I was just removing stuff and staring at it from time to time.
Duder
Watch it man, there's a beverage here!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Location
- Torrance, CA USA
More developments recently - I finally pulled the trigger on a better transmission. I was not confident in the old oddball T45, even if I could've addressed some of its shortcomings. It would have been a time bomb with the torque this 4.6L will make under boost. So...
...a TKX comes sliding in...
This is a TCET17765 to be specific, which is the version with the Ford style 26-spline input and the tallest 1st gear and 5th gear ratios available. I liked the idea of the TKX because it's a compact 5-speed, rated to 600 lb-ft, new, has both mechanical and electronic speedo outputs. While the old mystery T45 was cheap at $100 almost 20 years ago, and fit the tunnel well, I felt like I'd have a high risk of having to change it pretty quickly after getting the car up and running and tuning it for power.
The bellhousing is a Tremec TCCM 1889 which adapts a TKO, TR3550, or TKX to the Ford Modular 4.6L or 5.4L. It's a heavy honkus but being beefy isn't a bad thing in this case. I'll likely run a hydraulic throwout bearing, and still need to decide on a flywheel, clutch, and PP combo.
The ratios end up being very similar to the T45, just a bit taller across the board which I thought would work well. 1st is quite a bit taller. With a 24.75" tire and the 3.73 final drive ratio I have now the vehicle speed vs. engine speed relationship works out as below. This is assuming 6500 rpm redline but in reality I think I won't go above 6k.
WIth some help from Alex and Karl a few days ago, the old trans got yanked and this new guy went into the tunnel for a first fit-try. The main case fits without any issue whatsoever. So much room for activities. The bellhousing does have a bit more thickness at the very top vs the old T45, so the engine has to move forward for firewall tunnel clearance. I'll probably shave the top two bellhousing ribs down a bit but I do like the engine position here. Plenty of space up front, and being roughly 2" off the firewall gives me more steering shaft clearance to the driver's side head and valve cover, which is key.
Steering shaft mock-up... I'll need a skinny u-joint but this looks good. Then another u-joint or double cardan by the shock tower with a support bearing, and a final joint at the rack as usual.
I think the engine is actually tipped a bit too far tail down - I'll get a digital protractor and find a happy angle for it. That will help with clearance between the hood and throttle body too. And yeah, tons of room up front still.
Lastly, here's where the shifter ends up. I can modify this stub shaft or get a different shifter to move the bolted connection back and should be able to get it centered in the stock hole.
Next up is making V1 of engine & trans mounts, to lock this down.
...a TKX comes sliding in...
This is a TCET17765 to be specific, which is the version with the Ford style 26-spline input and the tallest 1st gear and 5th gear ratios available. I liked the idea of the TKX because it's a compact 5-speed, rated to 600 lb-ft, new, has both mechanical and electronic speedo outputs. While the old mystery T45 was cheap at $100 almost 20 years ago, and fit the tunnel well, I felt like I'd have a high risk of having to change it pretty quickly after getting the car up and running and tuning it for power.
The bellhousing is a Tremec TCCM 1889 which adapts a TKO, TR3550, or TKX to the Ford Modular 4.6L or 5.4L. It's a heavy honkus but being beefy isn't a bad thing in this case. I'll likely run a hydraulic throwout bearing, and still need to decide on a flywheel, clutch, and PP combo.
The ratios end up being very similar to the T45, just a bit taller across the board which I thought would work well. 1st is quite a bit taller. With a 24.75" tire and the 3.73 final drive ratio I have now the vehicle speed vs. engine speed relationship works out as below. This is assuming 6500 rpm redline but in reality I think I won't go above 6k.
WIth some help from Alex and Karl a few days ago, the old trans got yanked and this new guy went into the tunnel for a first fit-try. The main case fits without any issue whatsoever. So much room for activities. The bellhousing does have a bit more thickness at the very top vs the old T45, so the engine has to move forward for firewall tunnel clearance. I'll probably shave the top two bellhousing ribs down a bit but I do like the engine position here. Plenty of space up front, and being roughly 2" off the firewall gives me more steering shaft clearance to the driver's side head and valve cover, which is key.
Steering shaft mock-up... I'll need a skinny u-joint but this looks good. Then another u-joint or double cardan by the shock tower with a support bearing, and a final joint at the rack as usual.
I think the engine is actually tipped a bit too far tail down - I'll get a digital protractor and find a happy angle for it. That will help with clearance between the hood and throttle body too. And yeah, tons of room up front still.
Lastly, here's where the shifter ends up. I can modify this stub shaft or get a different shifter to move the bolted connection back and should be able to get it centered in the stock hole.
Next up is making V1 of engine & trans mounts, to lock this down.
I have yet to see a cut and sleeved axle shaft last.
Even in a CV half shaft application they grenade at a pretty consistent frequency.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2009
- Location
- Monterey/Falun
dont ruin my dreams
Duder
Watch it man, there's a beverage here!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Location
- Torrance, CA USA
If these axle shafts are indeed sleeved I can always get a custom set made up to fit the 8.8 but with Volvo outer dimensions and flanges. I do have confidence that they'll survive while the car is a roller though 
redblockpowered
bad username length
- Joined
- May 5, 2015
- Location
- Swampscott, MA
I did this once in a Honda Element with a piece of schedule 40 and some JB Weld.
It didn't work.
hiperfauto
The Librarian
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2011
- Location
- So Cal
The guy I got the wagon from said it cost $3000 for the rear end. I doubt that welded axles would hold up to the built 302 he had in the car so I assume they used a spline adapter like this.
Duder
Watch it man, there's a beverage here!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Location
- Torrance, CA USA
Thanks Ian - I wasn't aware of that type of adapter. That would be nice!
I didn't expect the axle shafts would generate so much discussion here... one of these days I'll expose them to the light of day and reveal the true nature of these mysterious beasts for all to see.